Enchantment Passing Through
by CharFire
Summary: Slight AU - Laerorniel is the daughter of the Lady Galadriel. Her life in Lothlorien was calm and peaceful until something strange and dark enters her wood. The Fellowship is on a quest of great peril, and Laerorniel finds her self part of their destiny, drawn to the ring...and to a certain elf. (Legolas Love Story)
1. Prologue: The Prophecy

**A/N: Hello and welcome back to Middle Earth! So, in case any of you were wondering, this is NOT a sequel to my story, "Durin's Daughter". It is a stand alone but has a similar theme.**

 **I am currently working on several stories and I know that I haven't updated a few of them in a long time, but I wanted to move some of my stories from Quotev onto Fanfiction while I had the time. College is in less than a week, and I at least wanted to add as many new ideas onto my account before I became too busy to even start.**

 **Please review and enjoy!**

 _There walk among us_

 _Those distant stars_

 _Of beauty, majesty, power, strength, mercy, and kindness_

 _Who, up close, are blinding to the eye_

 _But are bright and beauteous far away_

 _And there they wander, there they stay_

 _Morning till night, shining ever bright_

 _In times of darkness, there will be light_

 _And in times of light, darkness._

 _So it goes._

 _In the brightest daylight, there are shadows_

 _But the darkest nights have the brightest stars._

 _But suns go down, and stars go out._

 _One darkness holds, and silences the light_

 _The darkness burns, scars, tears, blacker than night_

 _It's where evil lurks, monsters hide, and the Dark One watches_

 _He waits, bides his time_

 _But_

 _There is another, a lighter force, one who holds the key and power_

 _To connect the worlds against one foe_

 _One star will brave the darkness_

 _And still shine ever bright_

 _This one will join a quest so bold,_

 _A wrong to be made right._

 _One will face death, evil, and all above_

 _Truly finds what it means_

 _To love._


	2. Lady in White

**A/N: This is where the real story starts. Also, I don't own anyone except my main character. Everyone else obviously belongs to Tolkien. So please review and enjoy! I haven't really worked on this story in a long time, and my writing style has changed dramatically.**

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The prophecy was one all elves in Lothlorien knew by heart. It spoke of great evil, one they had not seen for over an age, the stars and the sun, and a light that could over come the darkness. And love. No matter the variation, no matter who told it and who translated it, it always came back to the same ending. Love, and it's tentative power that could somehow win a darker war. That was always in there, too. War and darkness battling against love and light.

Laerorniel was always amazed by how many prophecies and destinies centered around love. Love and stars and the greater power of the universe. Always beyond their control. Laerorniel sighed, brushing her hand over the smooth bark of the balcony railing where she stood. This prophecy had been repeated to her since the day of her birth. It was practically the rhythm of her heartbeat now. No one ever had to ask her to recite it or analyze it. She knew every piece of it like her own name, and lately, it had been bothering her emoting frightful. The words were the only thins running through her mind. Especially the last verse, about truly knowing what it was to love. Laerorniel thought it silly. She had never been in love before herself, but living in the golden wood of Lothlorien more then made up for that.

Laerorniel was the daughter of the beautiful Lady Galadriel, the fairest elven woman ever to brush across Middle Earth. Laerorniel knew that it was true - her mother was a golden goddess that made other women pale in comparison, including her own princess daughter, although some had said that she was very close in likeness to her mother inspire of that. Laerorniel had long, wavy golden shine hair and a pale, heart shaped face. She wore a long, flowing white gown that hugged her body in the way that accentuated her elvish charms and apparent loveliness, and in her hair, a white circlet crown with blue gems. Her eyes, she knew, were pale blue, almost grey, and her lips were the pink color of ocean shells. In truth, she knew she was quite beautiful. All elves had a strange, ethereal beauty all their own. No where near as dazzling as her mother, though. She was just an image. And that's all she would ever be.

Laerorniel stood looking over the bright trees, watching the yellow leaves dances underneath the blue sky, and listening to the song of the wind in the branches. This little space was all her own. It was right at the edge of their palace, in the center of the Golden Wood. She wasn't allowed at the borders of their kingdom. Instead, this was the farthest she ever set foot: forty feet above the soft ground, just at the edge of the edge where she admired the simple life of a secret people.

"My Lady."

A soft voice called from behind her. She turned slowly, a sweet smile plastered on her face that masked the sad annoyance. Laerorniel never liked it when subjects caked her that. Her mother was the Lady in White. The name didn't seem to fit her right like it did her mother, like that it wasn't who she was supposed to be. She wasn't a real Lady. She was just….the Lady's daughter.

"Yes, Gulwen?" she spoke softly to the fair elf maiden.

Gulwen looked momentairily dazed, like a bright light had caught her eyes and she had to blink and look away, or else be blinded. Laerorniel never understood why the elves had that reaction to her. It was the same very time, almost identical to the way they responded when her mother approached them: with awe and respect and reverence. Laerorniel never got any of that. Her reactions were almost along the lines of shock and surprise, like they could never believe she was really there. She didn't know if she should be pleased, or resigned.

"Your mother requests your presence, My Lady. Trespassers were captured in our realm. Four hobbits, a dwarf, two men, and an elf from the Greenwood. She wishes you be there at the questioning."

Strange. Her mother and father usually dealt with the fools that dared to tread through the Lady's wood alone. Her mother had her own special way of learning the truth behind anyone's intentions in Lothlorien, and it was a very private matter. Not even the guards were allowed to stand too close to the prisoners as they were questioned, and Laerorniel had never been asked to attend the proceedings. What changed?

Laerorniel glided out to the open and made her way to the front of the sky-high palace. The trees were the elves favorite, next to starlight, and beech was the sweetest, so it made sense to construct a light, sturdy palace in the air. She remembered growing up here, high amongst the branches, laughing as her father and mother walked below her, every now and again calling out to her. It had been a simpler time, before the rumors of dark clouds gathering in the South. Before whispers of war had crept into their verses of song. Before her mother and father had all but disappeared in their duties - attending meetings, leading councils….leaving her alone in a

place that once was beautiful, but no longer really felt like home.

After taking several twists and turns, climbing long platformed staircases and down slides of green-gold leaves, she made her way to what they called "the meeting hall", a large open space where her parent's thrones resided and all serious business was dealt with, like trespassing, for instance. No one ever came to the Golden Wood. Lothlorien was rumored to be home to a powerful witch, one who was as terrible as she was beautiful. Of course, Lady Galadriel was no witch. Terrible and beautiful? That, Laerorniel smirked, was not quite as much a falsehood.

Laerorniel made it to a balcony, only a few feet above the hall, and looked down to see the visitors with her parents. No one said anything aloud, which meant her mother was speaking privately to their minds. This was something she had never gotten to watch, and she eagerly took in everything she could now. Her mother would not have requested her here unless she thought it was important. Something of interest to her, specifically.

She noticed what appeared to be children down below. Hobbits. There were four - one was very small, even for their kind, and the one next to him was slightly taller and thinner. They could be brothers, or cousins. The next one was fatter, rounder with a sweet face. Laerorniel liked him immediately. She watched his face open up in awe as he stared at her mother, and then he glanced over to the fourth small thing. This one was different - he had darker hair, almost black, and he swayed where he stood, as if he was tired, his very bones weary with the effort it took to stand there and present himself. As she moved her eyes away, Laerorniel paused. There was something deeper, here. Something dark and powerful. A pulse went through her body and it seemed to echo away from someone down there….she couldn't tell which one. Laerorniel furrowed her brow and shook her golden head, trying to dispel the feeling of wrongness as she looked in earnest to the other companions of this group.

There were two men, one golden haired, one dark haired. The golden one had his head bowed, and he, too, was shaking. But his body spoke of fear and trepidation, not weariness. She narrowed her eyes at that one. He was hard to read, but Laerorniel knew his secrets were further beneath the surface than anyone might expect. The dark haired Man was pleasing to the eye. He stood tall and proud, yet he was humble and respectful.

The dwarf was stout and red, and looked extremely uncomfortable. She could hardly blame him. Elves and dwarves were not enemies, but neither were they allies. No one knew for sure what started the rift between their people, but in any case, neither side was willing to simply thaw the coolness. Laerorniel snorted to herself, watching as the dwarf alternated between looking at her mother and looking at his feet. This group was nothing but a strange and harmless fellowship, she was certain,

And then she saw him.

He wore dark green garments, interwoven with strips of brown and grey. His hair was like fine silver with the light of the morning star trapped in every strand. He was tall, lithe, and had a bow and quiver strapped firmly to his back over his strange clothes. Laerorniel could tell, even from this distance, that his face would be handsome an his eyes piercing. Who was this beautiful elf? Where did he come from? She had to know.

He looked up, as if he could feel her eyes on him.

Something happened then. Her cheeks flushed. Her stomach swooped. Her heart beat sped up and her palms felt sweaty. She was dizzy and it was as if the world fell away from her, then, and all she could see - all that mattered - was this elf below here. She swallowed thickly, blinking fast and turned away from the opening. She lifted up her gown, trying to dry her sweaty palms and quickly hurried back the way she had come.

She had never felt such a rush of emotions before. It was terrifying and yet, exhilarating. Her heart was still beating out of pace in her chest and her thoughts seems all out of order. Laerorniel don't know what was happening, but one thing was clear. She had to find out more of the elf with the blue eyes.

She had to.


	3. Thinking Out Loud

**A/N: Just to give this story a little more to go on…here is another chapter.**

 **Please review!**

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Laerorniel tried to slow her breathing, convinced that any second they would pause and one of them would hear her heart hammering out of her chest. She had never done anything like this before. What had caused her to be so brazen and bold and…uncivilized? She didn't know what was happening, and what was worse, she didn't feel embarrassed or ashamed of her sneaking actions. She felt…thrilled. Excited. She peeked out from behind the slim tree trunk, relying on her cloak to help her blend into the dim colors as she watched the small company be escorted to their sleeping quarters on the lowest level of the Lady's grounds.

After seeing the blond elf, Laerorniel had hurried off the balcony, both excited and confused. She still felt odd from when he looked at her, or when she thought he looked at her, a strange fluttering sensation in her stomach sending her completely off balance. Laerorniel moved from her hiding spot and quickly ran to another tree, closer to the strangers' retreating backs. She snuck another glance into the open and immediately spied the green-clad elf's thinner, regal form.

There! There it was! That feeling in her stomach, the blush rising to her cheeks, her rapidly beating heart...

 _What is happening to me?_ she thought.

Suddenly, Laerorniel knew she was not alone. A sudden shift in the air around her and a gentle pressing in her mind alerted her to her mother's presence well before she even saw Lady Galadriel step from behind the tree next to her.

The Lady Galadriel was tall and poised, every inch of her screaming royalty. Her face was always calm and serene, a beautiful wall hiding the raging storm of power and emotion Laerorniel knew was surging underneath. The Lady of the Wood was dressed in flowing garments that always appeared to be fluttering around her in a breeze that wasn't there, creating a more mystical, ghostly appearance that stunned onlookers and intimidated enemies. Seeing her mother, standing before her, it always made Laerorniel feel as if she was missing something inside her. She could never be who her mother was, yet that's exactly what everyone expected of her. Her father groomed her to one day inherit Lothlorien, her mother taught her to be a future Lady, and all the elves of the Golden Wood treated her like glass. It was a privileged life, Laerorniel knew, but it didn't fit her.

There was a tensing in her mind, and she knew her mother was using her gift to sift through her emotions, her more prevalent thoughts. She prepared herself for the lecture that was certain to come - following the strangers, acting like a child, and no doubt she had heard the self-deprecation speech.

 _You feel the pull as well._ Galadriel spoke softly inside her.

This caught Laerorniel quite off guard and she had to catch herself. What? What pull? what had she been listening to in her mind? Did she mean with the elf? No way...but could she…and what did she mean, "as well"?

 _The Dark Power call to me, too. It draws us both. I can feel it here, as do you. It is carried by a hobbit by the name of Frodo Baggins._

Laerorniel remembered now. She had been so distracted by the elf that she had nearly forgotten the strangeness that she had noticed while watching the little ones. She had felt it, something dark and vile and very powerful carried by someone light and pure and oh, so small.

 _Yes, My Lady. I have felt it._ she thought back to her mother. It was a singular gift, to speak with the minds. It was the one thing Laerorniel was truly grateful to have inherited from her mother. The one thing that honestly connected them, and only them.

A distant crack of a branch caught her attention, and Laerorniel turned back, looking sadly after the Fellowship, as they called themselves, as they traversed further into her kingdom, growing more distant as they continued on their way.

 _That is not all you have felt._ her mother's voice smiled.

The image of the blond elf appeared suddenly in her mind, the tell-tale blush already reddening her face. She swirled back around in shock and embarrassment, though she couldn't help but notice that his face was handsomer than she had originally glimpsed - smoother and gentler, with sloping features and his eyes….oh, his eyes…..

 _I..._

 _Do not be afraid of what you feel, Laerorniel, daughter. I can feel it in you, your interest in the elf. You have not hidden it as well as you might have thought._

Her mother's gaze looked past her, deeper into the wood, where their guests probably lay resting. Laerorniel once more looked back, wishing she could see what her mother saw.

 _His name is Legolas._

Legolas. His face still swam in her mind: his bright, piercing blue eyes, his blond hair framing an open face, the hint of a smile tugging at the edge of his mouth and in the gleam of his eyes...Legolas. Yes...that fit nicely. It was perfect. Legolas. Her tongue begged to say his name, even in a whisper. Instead, Laerorniel bit her lip and listened to her mother's voice speaking to her silently.

 _He comes from far away, from many troubles and heartache and a burden of his own. He and his companions have traveled far and have suffered a loss near to their hearts._

Galadriel paused, as if searching for something she knew was there, but wasn't sure of the exact location.

 _He is the prince of the Mirkwood Elves._

Laerorniel's breath caught in her throat. A prince? He looked more like a Ranger, if she had to be completely honest. Yet, that was not exactly true. The way he held himself, how clean he looked compared to his comrades, the restraint he showed and the reverent respect. He certainly had been raised formally. But it wasn't as clear as Laerorniel thought it would be. It wasn't clear he was royalty at all. It was buried, deep underneath his green and grey and brown.

 _Their ways are not ours, daughter. He is wild, a free spirit, friend to many strange beings. Not the usual look as you might have thought, but quite unique. No wonder your eye was caught._

Laerorniel thought she heard a chuckle at the end, but when she looked, Galadriel's face was as impassive as ever, her mother's eyes sparking with intermittent knowledge of things beyond her. Laerorniel knew her own eyes were probably empty of any depth, as clear and as shallow as a brook.

Galadriel looked at her daughter kindly, knowing not to show too much on her face lest her daughter grow suspicious. They looked so much alike, yet they were so different. It had always been that way, and they had known that this wood would not contain her forever. Not happily, at any rate. Galadriel knew what her young daughter felt and she thought back to an old starlight song that had once been just an innocent lullaby. Now, it spoke more truth than fable. She knew. She had always known. It was time.

 _My Lady..._

Her daughter's thought broke her silent internal reverie. She smiled down, knowing she would have to explain, and soon. There truly wasn't much time before they left again. But for now, they were here, safe in Lothlorien. Let her wander, let her meet her future on her own.

 _Go._ she thought to Laerorniel. _Wander the wood. Go through the golden trees and find what you seek. I'm sure he is just as intrigued as you are. Your sudden appearance quite surprised him. And I do not think that is something to take like lightly._

Laerornial blinked in surprise, a warmth of happiness spreading through her. She didn't know why, but the prospect of meeting the strangers, all of them, filled a little bit of something inside her, something she hadn't realized was empty. Just what, she didn't know…but she did know it was the start of something bigger than what she could imagine.

 _Thank you, Mother...My Lady. But what..._

Galadriel smiled, then slowly moved past her child of light and back into her woods.

 _Do not worry. You may find you have more in common with them than you think._


	4. Prince of the Mirkwood Elves

**A/N: Now things get interesting….please review!**

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Laerorniel trailed through the wood quickly and quietly, following the faint sounds of laughter and whispers. The Golden Wood was silent, letting the strangers' voices travel further than they would on any other night. Normally, any sound in the wood was suffocated by the elven magic woven into the land, the trees. It helped the elves of Lothlorien remain stealthy and watch without giving away their positions. But perhaps it was her mother's magic that allowed her to follow it without any trouble now.

She was getting close, it was easy to tell, and she smiled wide with excitement. Strangers were a rare occurrence here in her woods, and it was an even more rare occurrence that she was being allowed to meet them. What should she say? What should she do? A small twinge of fear wormed it's way through her previous excitement, and Laerorniel started to doubt her decision to follow these newcomers. Maybe she shouldn't have done this. Maybe she should stop now and go back. It wasn't too late.

But suddenly it was, because the voices were louder now. One more tree and-

She froze and hid quickly behind the last beech tree, her heart pounding nervously. This was it. She was here, right at the edge of a bright moonlit clearing. Normally it was used only for dances and royal gatherings at the beginning of the solstice markers, but apparently her father had loaned it out for the next few nights as the quarters for the weary group. Laerorniel could easily see the strategy: it was open, so the group could not easily hide from them, but it left plenty of space for them to be watched. They had enough space to spread out and relax, but it was small enough to be contained. Not that they knew any of that. Taking a deep breath, she decided to chance a small peek from her hiding spot, wondering how things would look from this close.

The little band had been set up in traditional blue, silken hammocks and tents. They were light and airy, but provided maximum comfort. The design of the Lothlorien cloth made for easy transport but superior strength and endurance, whether that be for everyday wear or simply the sheets for bedding. Laerorniel could also see that they were given food and comforts to last them a few days. So they weren't just overnighters. Interesting. Laerorniel snuck another few inches closer to the edge, making sure to blend in with the shadows, her cloak tucked tightly around her.

The two Men were set up a little aways from the others, talking seriously in low voices. The dark haired one had his head ducked down low, and he was fiddling with something thin in his hands. The blonde was taking more incessantly to him, with a look of urgency and desperation that made Laerorniel uneasy even from this distance. She narrowed her eyes, knowing that if she had the chance, she would have to keep and eye on that one specifically. She leaned a little further out, looking for the others.

The four little oddlings had taken rest in the middle of the space, resting against the roots of a tree trunk. They were closer to her than the Men were, so she was able to get a more thorough look at them than she had been able to from her hasty once over at the balcony. One had a slight, slender face, his stature slimmer and more girlish than the other three, though Laerorniel was unfamiliar with hobbits and could not tell if that was a normal physique. The youth in his face suggested that he was most likely the youngest of the four, which might also explain his stature, and his maturity. At the moment, he was laughing loudly at something one of his companions had said and chomping on an apple, a second and third one resting in his lap. He rested near a similar hobbit, with only a slightly more serious face and a crooked grin. He was slightly more filled out, his hair slightly curlier, and definitely older than the littler one. He, too, had an apple in his hands but he was playing with it rather than eating it. The next one was larger than the previous two, his face pudgier and more childlike, somehow. While the other two had darker, brunette curls, he was blonde, his skin dirtier, tanner, as if he had spent all his time in the sun. Laerorniel thought he looked sweet, almost nervous. He was laughing halfheartedly alongside the others, but every now and then he shot a worried glance over at the last small thing.

Now this one was different than all the rest. He had dark hair, almost black, and it seemed to curl away from his face. Unlike his friends, he was sitting absolutely quietly, hardly a part of his surroundings. The others oohed and aahed over the loveliness of the wood, but this one….he almost seemed as if he didn't care. As if he didn't even notice any of that. His head was bowed, almost as if he was sleeping, but Laerorniel knew he wasn't. No, there was something else….

Laerorniel felt a tug in the pit of her stomach, as if a fish hook had somehow caught her and was pulling her forward against her will. It was completely unlike the pulling she felt before, when she caught sight of Legolas. This…this was darker and menacing….like thunderclouds in the dead of night. There was a surge of power with it as well, and she knew, without completely knowing how she knew, that that power she felt would be so much stronger if she found the source.

Laerorniel shook her head and blinked, and the feeling dissipated all at once, leaving her cold. She had no idea what _that_ was, but it left her feeling…slimy. A sudden barbaric grunt broke through her musings and she moved her gaze over slightly to a portly, red-haired dwarf devouring a leg of lamb, cheese, cram, lembas, and a pint of mead in his own tent. He slurped and grunted as he picked and tore apart his food with his fingers, crumbs being tossed into his thick beard, and Laeroriel watched as after he finished, he combed through it with a wooden spike.

"Disgusting." she muttered with revulsion. Dwarves. Completely uncivilized beings. Loud and arrogant. As her father always said, pride goeth before the fall. And those small mountain dwellers were full of it. Laerorniel never considered herself above anyone, or anything, but watching that axe wielder break a twig off the ground and use it as a toothpick…she nearly gagged.

Instead, she leaned out just a bit more and scanned the opening for the object of her new desires. There were the Men, the hobbits, the dwarf….seven total. That wasn't right, Laerorniel frowned. There should be eight. Eight travelers. There was one person missing, and she felt her heart contract with desperation as she continued to scan the small group again and again to no avail. he wasn't there. The blonde haired Prince of Elves with the blue eyes. Legolas.

"Legolas..." she whispered.

"You called?"

The soft, lilting voice came suddenly from behind her, and Laerorniel jumped around, barely containing the small scream that was on her lips. Inwardly, she cursed in a thousand languages as her heart beat slowed from it's rapid pace. She had been so focused on the band in front of her, she hadn't heard the soft footsteps approach from behind her. As she caught her breath and managed to focus, she finally got to see the elf standing before her.

He was leaning casually against another beech a few feet away, further in the shadows than she was. His blonde hair was tied back away from his pale face, giving Laerorniel a full view of his ice blue eyes, and the small smile that was edging on the corners of his pale lips. He was wearing Lothlorien silken clothes, pale silver, which, when set in open starlight or moonlight, turned an even paler blue. The elf before her held a small silver flask in his hands, which he fingered idly as he studied her from beneath his lashes. Laerorniel realized she was openly staring and quickly looked away.

Slowly, her heart slowed back to a relatively normal pace, but that now familiar fluttering feeling had returned to her stomach, and she felt her face beginning to flush. Hesitantly, she chanced a glance back at this strange new eld and saw that he was still admiring her pleasantly.

"You are the maiden from the balcony." he stated, tilting his head, moving away from his tree and taking a few steps towards her gracefully. His feet barely made a sound on the soft leaves of the woodland floor. "You are, aren't you?"

Larorniel caught her heart in her throat. This was not happening. Not to her. But it was. She could feel the traitorous flush creeping up on the back of her neck, her cheeks, her ears and willed it to go away. She was not some petty, giggly handmaiden. She was royalty herself. So, as Legolas stepped closer to her, Laeorrniel pulled her body off of her own tree and made her own advance, standing defiantly to her full height in an effort to present herself as she had always been taught. How she had been taught…. How would her mother respond?

"And you," Laerorniel nodded regally, "are Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood Elves."

He paused in his advances, and Laerorniel smirked, allowing herself this small win. Her mother had said it wasn't easy to surprise this one.

"Impressive." Legolas recovered quickly, sending a soft smile her way. "But I would expect no less from The Lady's Daughter."

Now it was her turn to look completely surprised. There goes her small advantage. She cursed again, and kept her face impassive, yet curious.

"How did you...?"

He laughed, then - and it was a musical sound. It was low, and pleasant sounding. A chill went through her, another fluttering in her stomach. And she noticed another thing, too: the feelings of attraction were getting stronger. She couldn't deny it at all now.

"You so closely resemble her, you could be no one else." he took another step towards her. "But why is Lady Galadriel's child hiding in the trees, spying on a group of nomads? There are easier ways to gain information of us. We are not hiding anything."

And there it was. The first lie he had told her. But Laerorniel knew that he didn't know she knew it was a lie. Interesting. Legolas tilted his head, studying her closer. She found that she wasn't entirely uncomfortable with his scrutiny. However, she wasn't entirely comfortable with it either.

"Come." Legolas said, smiling at her once more before stepping past her out of the trees, making his way back to the other members of his company. He turned back once to see if she was following, nodding his head once as encouragement before continuing back at a relaxed pace, as if nothing had even happened.

Laerorniel couldn't believe it. One the last few hours, she had wanted so much for this exact moment. To meet these new strangers that had seemingly been dropped into her world. It was like…something out of a dream, a vision, and yet it felt completely real all at once, too. After a moment of deliberation - she still had time to leave if she wanted to, except she didn't want to - she stepped out after him, walking slowly to the clearing. However, her hesitation cost her. Legolas had already reached the others, and they stood to meet him. As she approached she could hear the low murmur of his voice, and saw how the seven others listened intently. Their faces were blank, wary….suspicious.

Laerorniel stopped her approach a few feet back from where they stood, waiting, knowing that they would have to make the first move to invite her. The air had gone from warm and inviting to cold and apprehensive, and Laerorniel couldn't tell why. Why had things gotten so out of hand, so fast?

Just then, the dark haired Man looked away from his companions and locked eyes with her. He stepped around Legolas and approached her, possibly to introduce himself, or to get a better look. She wasn't sure. But the way he held himself, the way he took command of a situation, not by force or announcement, but subtly and without a word, told her that he was a man in charge.

"Is this her, Legolas?" he said, eyeing her narrowly. "The girl you were telling us about before?"

He stared at her unblinkingly, and Laerorniel stared back apprehensively. His tone had made her tense, and the cold, appraising looks the company was giving her made her skin crawl. This was not going the way she had imagined it. They were not treating her as their hostess. They were treating her like a spy. A traitor. An enemy.

"Yes." Legolas said, moving to stand beside her, making the butterflies in her stomach go chaotic against her will. "This is her. She was lurking back in the woods when I caught her."

Laerorniel stared at him in shock and she felt a spark of anger. Lurking?! How dare he! How utterly insulting. He knew exactly who she was, even if he hadn't gotten around to explaining that part to his comrades yet. He knew, he _knew,_ and he was accusing her of spying? Her anger grew. She could feel it bubbling under her skin, the turmoil of her emotions stirring up a breeze around them, though not one of the strangers took notice. Laerorniel forced herself to stay calm, the only sign of her aggression being her flashing eyes, but she stayed quiet as the others starting to speak up.

"She looks young, just a child, really. Probably one of their offspring that got curious."

"No one is "just curious", these days, Boromir."

"She's pretty. Very pretty. I like her."

"Shut up, Pip."

"What?"

"We don't know if we can trust her, and you're going on over a stupid crush?"

"She looks familiar. Is she-?"

"A spy, no doubt!" the dwarf shouted out, silencing the rest of them. He stepped forward aggressively, but Laerorniel didn't move. She looked down at him disdainfully as he marched closer, and she could see his eyes were beady and full of malice. "She's here to spy on us, that's for certain. They know we would never hurt someone so frail and frilly, so they sent a wee lass to do their dirty work, probably a lowly maid servant, a mindless, obedient-"

In the back of her mind, a voice was shouting at her that they had no idea who she really was. All of this was a simply misunderstanding. But that thought was blotted out by the sudden ave of fury coursing through her. A sudden flow of adrenal power filled her, and she felt herself grow and grow, dark shadows building behind her towering form. The light breeze turned into a strong wind, knocking them over in shock as her voice bellowed through the clearing in a menacing call.

 **"I AM NO SPY, YOU BELITTLING BRUTE! YOU CONQUERING MEN, YOU VAIN AND COWERING HALF THINGS! YOU DARE ACCUSE ME OF LURKING IN MY OWN WOODS? THE PLACE YOU HAVE TRESPASSED, AND TAKEN REFUGE?"**

She laughed, and the sound was terrifying even to her own ears. Laerorniel had never felt such power. She knew her mother and father, even some of the legend wizards could increase their auras, their perception of themselves to appear more intimidating. She never thought she might accomplish such a feat. But that was before she met the loudmouthed dwarf of Erebor.

 **"** **I AM THE DAUGHTER OF THE LADY GALADRIEL! I AM A LADY OF THE WOOD, AND MY MOTHER IS QUEEN. NO MORTAL MEN WILL TELL ME WHO I AM, NOR ANY OTHER SUCH BEING. I AM NO CHILD. I AM PRINCESS OF LOTHLORIEN, THE GOLDEN WOOD IN WHICH YOU ARE GUESTS, AND IT WOULD DO YOU WELL TO REMEMBER THAT!"**

And just like that, it was over. The wind died down, the shadows dimmed, and the world came back into focus. Her fury died away and she found herself back in her own body, her own size. She was breathing hard and fast, and she was still extremely upset. But that, it seemed, had been a good way to vent. And Valar, it had felt so good.

The company was flat on the ground, eyes wide and fearful, utter shock etched upon their faces. Laerorniel took a calming breath to steady herself, looking at each one of them in turn. She wanted to stress this as much as she could now. There would be no further mistakes, insults, or accusations this night. Not to her.

"My name," she breathed, "is Laerorniel."

Legolas slowly got to his feet, hands out defensively. She knew she had shocked him severely, and she saw the regret in his eyes that gleamed so clearly. This time, though, she quelled the feelings that came to her and looked at him the way she would look at a servant, or any other of her court.

"Our apologies, My Lady. Please-"

Before he could finish, he was cut off by the dark haired Man standing as well. Laerorniel turned her attention to him, brows raised in interest.

"My Lady, if we had only known who you were, I am sure we would have been more respectful." he gave a pointed look at the dwarf. "I am deeply regretful of the way we have treated you, and I hope you find it in your heart to forgive our foolishness."

"Who are you?" Laerorniel said instead, keeping her voice soft.

"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn." the Man bowed, his movements graceful and noble, echoing the posture of someone who once stood in a place of power himself. She took note of that before turning her gaze onward to the rest of the company.

" I am Boromir." the blond Man said heavily, nodding his head in greeting.

"Peregrin Took." the youngest looking hobbit stepped forward and made a sweeping bow that nearly had her laughing. She kept a straight face as he stood with a bounce. "But you can call me Pippin."

"Merridoc Brandybuck, but please, call me Merry." said another hobbit.

"Samwise Gamgee, My Lady." the heavier hobbit stepped foreword, bowing slightly, and the look he gave her was so flattering that Laeronriel gave him a soft smile in return, making him blush.

"Frodo Baggins." said the fourth hobbit. "From the Shire."

Laeronriel greeted him politely as well. Finally, she reached the last member of the company. Laerorniel's feelings of calm evaporated as she turned her cold gave onto the still trembling dwarf who had yet to pick himself off the ground. The Man, Aragorn, followed her gaze and gave a sharp kick to his companion's side, spurring him out of his shock and back onto his feet.

"Yes, uh, well," he stammered, clearing his throat, "Gimli, son of Gloin, Lady, and I, uh, apologize, well, for my, uh, earlier, uh, accusations. I was out of order. Clearly."

Laerorniel gave his one long, calculating stare before nodding stiffly in acceptance. His apology would have to suffice for now. It was obviously the best she would get at that moment. She relaxed her stance, but only barely, as her less than warm welcome put her on edge. Suddenly, she remembered Legolas, and turned to face him expectantly. The other elf stood patiently behind her, as if waiting for some kind of acknowledgement, and when she and he made eye contact, he moved forward once more.

"Fair Lady Laerorniel, meet The Fellowship."


	5. Feelings

**A/N: Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, or anything, except Laerorniel. She is my character. Middle Earth and all it's trademarks belong to J.R.R Tolkien.**

 **Please review!**

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Galadriel smiled as she watched from the shadows, feeling proud as her daughter displayed her realm of power and authority, almost an exact mirror of how she herself would against any who disrespected her. Laerorniel had good instincts, and more power than Galadriel had originally thought. She doubted even her daughter knew. Galadriel looked at the Fellowship's faces as Laerorniel's voice thundered above them. It was quite amusing, really, their faces. They clearly had not been expecting the sudden change in the fair elven princess.

Galadriel took a long look at her daughter, watching as her rage subsided and she returned to her fair countenance. Her daughter was often told she was the spitting image of Galadriel, but the Lady of the Wood knew there were subtle differences, things her daughter would have to discover on her own, and soon. Laerorniel was back to herself now, and talking quietly with the eight members of this sworn group. They were still shook, and Galadriel could hardly blame them. They had judged solely on appearance, and that had been their fatal mistake.

Laeroniel was rather small and lithe for her age. She was just over a century, which was still practically a child in elven years, and she hadn't lost that pure youth that came with their people, the wide eyed wonder of any child, despite her having been round much longer than almost all of the strangers she was talking to. And Lady Lothlorien knew that because of this, her slim looks and naive appearance and gentle nature, people often misjudged and underestimated Laerorniel, something they oft did with Galadriel herself. The Lady thought that perhaps her daughter misjudged herself, too. It was almost time for her to learn the truth.

She continued watching as Laerorniel kept her regal stature, saw her try to imitate a cold look of disdain at the well meaning dwarf, and chuckled. Though Galadriel might have used a more subtle approach at admonishing, Laerorniel's brashness seemed to do the effective trick of making the Fellowship humbly apologize and amend their mistake.

She watched with dim detachment from her cover as they settled to talk to her daughter. After a moment, Galadriel turned back to make her way to her consul. There were some preparations she needed to get in order before the morn.

* * *

Laerorniel remained standing as the others sat in front of her. A part of her wished to sit as well, to seem normal and at ease, as comfortably as Legolas made it seem, to be graceful and fluid for once, like a Lady. But another part of her refused to sit, afraid it would somehow contradict the stature she had just put herself in in contrast to the others. Her conflicting inner emotions made her nervous and she mentally rolled her eyes. She was overreacting. She had to be cool. Calm. Collected. Her mother never felt nervous in front of guests.

"Now that we have established ourselves, I believe some explanations are in order." Aragorn began softly. "Pardon me for asking so, My Lady, but would you mind telling us why you were watching from the shadows? We would have graciously accepted your presence had it be known to us before." The girl, though extremely powerful no doubt, was only just that, Aragorn reminded himself. She looked hardly older than Legolas, though with elves, as it was proven, were hard to judge simply by appearance.

"Please." she blushed, and cursed at her sudden bought of shyness. "Please, call me Laerorniel. My mother is the Lady of the Wood. Really, I am just her daughter. I'd feel more at ease if you spoke to me as you would your own company. Though perhaps with more dignity." she shot another glance at the dwarf, who still had the presence of mind to be abashed.

Aragorn raised an eyebrow at her unusual request, but nodded anyway at the amendment. She was certainly different than the usual elven royalty. Frankly, she reminded him of another elven maiden, in a different palace, one made of white stone and blue glass. Aragorn shook his head. Now was not the time for wishful thinking. He studied this small golden girl in front of him.

She was flustered, showing much more emotion than most elves. By their nature, most immortals rarely showed deeper emotions than indifference, their other senses having hardened over the millennia they existed. But this girl….she had the emotional range of a human youth, letting them run rampant and wild in her veins. She also seemed to be very uncomfortable in her own skin, and with her own birth title. How peculiar. Aragorn was finding her more interesting by the minute, and he wasn't the only one. Legolas, too, gave her an interested glance. Aragorn had known the blonde elf for many, many years. Ever since his own distant youth, and he had traveled with him long, so the destined King was quite confident in saying that Legolas Greenleaf was quite hard to take by surprise, especially at this age in his prime.

But in a matter of minutes, this girl of the golden wood had certainly made him rethink that assumption. Legolas was utterly captivated. They all were.

"Alright. Laerorniel. Why then did you watch us?"

Laerorniel looked at their curious faces thoughtfully. She supposed the truth couldn't hurt. Or at the very least, part of the truth. There was no real need to mention the deep, instinctual feelings that had erupted within her towards their elven friend….right? No, best to keep that to herself for the moment.

"Lothlorien is excluded from outside wanderers." Laerorniel began slowly. "Rumors of an enchanted witch and the seclusion of nearby villages and cities keep us from being just another way path for lost and foolish travelers who would only destroy our home in the long run. That being said, usually those who find us are in some great peril indeed, to have traveled so far and braved the rumors to walk into this wood. If we are careful and notified, an invitation will be sent to the ongoing folks and taken into our woods in peace. But you came on us quickly, and crossed lines. Thus, you were taken to the chambers to meet with my parents. When you trespassed, I was called to observe as well from a higher balcony. I saw you from above for a moment but then you were dismissed. I had to know more. I had to see you."

"But why?" The blonde Man, Boromir, asked her.

"You must understand." Laerorniel said. "Never have I seen such a strange group: hobbits and men and dwarves and elves, all together in one journey. It's simply fascinating. Believe me, I only wished to maybe observe you further, especially once I felt-" she cut off abruptly, her face emotionless. Too far. She had gone too far. Laerorniel hoped that they hadn't noticed, that they wouldn't begin to question her, but that thought was ruined as the company looked at her and each other in confusion.

"Felt...what?" Boromir prompted, an underlying tone of anger and suspicion just barely concealed. He didn't trust the she-elf, princess or no. That didn't make her trustworthy in his book. She was holding something back, and he knew it. Secrets breed mistrust after all. And he should know. He had been guarding many of his own for months now.

Legolas as broke through the growing silence at last, but with a different aim. This line of questioning would get them no where. Perhaps, a softer tactic.

"I saw you." He said to her, causing Laerorniel to jump a bit, moving her gaze from one blonde to the other, her face a mask of surprise….and was that pleasure? It was, yes, it clearly was. Even as her face moved to mask it, her eyes did not lie.

"What?" she murmured.

"I saw you above us as we spoke to the High Lady. Just briefly, but it was enough. I knew we must have intrigued you, as much as I was by you. I knew you would follow. It is why I met you in the glade before bringing you here. I wished for a moment alone, though perhaps that was not a wise choice on my part. I only wanted to see what you were doing. I only wanted to see if you had felt it too..."

He spoke the last part quietly to himself, keeping his heart in his own thoughts, though Aragorn looked at him strangely. Yet no one heard as he drifted into his own mind about what he had felt when he had looked up into her bright eyes in the split second they had connected, and the feelings that were emerging now as she stood in front of him, mere inches away.

"I felt a call." Laerorniel continued slowly. Her eyes had gone dark and distant, and she looked at each one of them in turn, as if searching for something, and she knew one of them held the answer. "A dark call. It is not something I have ever felt before, though granted I am young and inexperienced. Yet I know I know something heavy weighs on one of you. Something burdens you all. It tugs at me relentlessly, and I feel it now. I felt it then, and I had to see if it was here or a figment of the stope of the trees. I know now it is not."

What had she said? Why had she said it? Laerorniel blinked, and it was as if her head broke the surface of a pool of water, and she gasped suddenly, taking deep breaths of cold air.

One of the hobbits took a sharp intake of breath, catching her attention. It was the dark haired one, Frodo Baggins from the Shire. he had paled considerably in the dimming light, one of his hands now clutching a chain that hung around his neck.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked warily, inching closer to his master. They were all watching her warily now, her welcome completely worn out. She found that she did not care. Laerorniel gazed out above them slightly, her eyes becoming unfocused.

"I am not sure of my meaning myself, Master Samwise." she whispered, though in the silence of the clearing, she might as well have been shouting. "Something is happening. Fate is changing courses. For whatever reason, under fortune, star luck, or grievance, your company came here tonight. I can feel a call, and it is pulling and pushing me away from my trees and into the wilderness, a place I have never been and have to reason to be. Yet, I do not think I am alone." She finished and focused back on the others who were staring at her in even more astonishment.

"Laerorniel-"

"I must talk to My Lady."

And with that, she was gone.


	6. Decisions

**A/N: I published these chapters a while ago on Quotev, so I'm basically editing them and moving them over to this site, which is why updating is a breeze.**

 **I hope y'all continue to review!**

* * *

Laerorniel ran back the way she had come, her feet finding quick holds and taking her full speed through the trees. She panted, but not because she was tired. No, her chest heaved for an entirely different reason, and her head was pounding trying to make sense of it all. Seriously, what was that?!

She gasped as another wave hit her, a swirling mix of utterly foreign emotions. Some were dark and controlling, desperate for another release like it had when she had exploded in anger for that brief minute. It had felt good….in a terrible way. And then there had been the softer, more welcomed emotions - the swooping sensations, the lightheadedness….What was it about the Mirkwood elf, Legolas, that made her feel so…extraordinary? Like she was someone special?

But she wasn't. Special, that is. She was just….the daughter of someone special, that was all. There was nothing special about her. She looked like her mother, spent every day doing the same routines, walking the same lengths of branches she had walked for a hundred years. Legolas was the most interesting person that had come through this wood in a long while. Except….Laerornoil couldn't fight that deeper, uglier feeling in her chest. Telling her that the elf wasn't the only one who caught her attention. Someone else had, too….or perhaps, it was something.

Her mother told her that it was carried by the hobbit Frodo. Laerorniel hadn't had much time to study the small hobbit in the minutes she had approached him, but there was definitely something straining about him, His eyes were gaunt, skin stretched thin, and his breathing was labored. He hadn't seemed all there to begin with, and once she had mentioned a _feeling…_ She knew that he felt the call of the dark power more strongly than she.

Laerorniel shook her head to clear it as she ran. moving swiftly through the darkening woods. Nothing was making any sense. Her feelings were all mixed in together. She could hardly think straight and everything was going wild in her mind. Maybe it would be better if she stayed away from the company until they left in the morning. Yes, that was probably the wisest thing she could do. She would stay away, and they would leave her behind….wait, what?

Laerorniel hitched up her white silken dress and made her way faster through the trees, if that was even possible. The thoughts running through her head….they were not normal. They were irrational and full of longing…except, she didn't know what it was she was longing. Laerorniel was starting to get worried.

Suddenly, she found herself in a large, open glade, different from the one she had left behind her. No, this was private, decorated with personal touches of lilac and cherry-blossom, the magic of elves allowing those scented fawnas to grow in a cooler climate. Laerorniel already felt herself begin to calm down as she wandered to the center of her mother's garden. It never failed to awe her with its natural beauty. The glade was lit with a brilliant light, like the light of their most favored star. In the center of the lovely space, where the light was purest and brightest, stood her mother.

"My Lady..."

 _Daughter._

Her mother's familiar voice gently prodded in her mind. Laerorniel paused where she stood, unsure how to approach. Then Galadriel turned from her spot in the light to face her, and Laerorniel forgot why she had come. Her mother's face was as serious as it had ever been, which was shocking considering her mother almost always had a gleam in her eye, a smile playing on the edge of her lips. There was none of that here. As her eyes became adjusting to the brilliance that seemed to surround the Lady, Laerorniel noticed a shape laid down behind her mother's robes. She glanced back to Galadriel, who nodded.

"Mother-My Lady- I need your guidance." she began. Words felt like cotton in her mouth, and she swallowed thickly. "I went to the company to meet the Mirkwood Prince and his companions. And I felt….I sensed, rather…it was two different feelings, actually, and now I'm more confused than ever. Mother, you said you knew what I was feeling, both in my heart and in my mind. What am I supposed to do? The dark power tugs at me, and it's strong. So strong."

 _I know, my child. But what about the second feeling?_

Galadriel's voice held something in it, as if she knew already what Laerorniel was about to confess. But how could she? Laerorniel barely could make sense of all that was whirring though her head.

"Another force draws at me, Mother. Away from here in Lothlorien and further…. I felt it when I spoke to them, but I think it's been nudging at me for a while. I know it's an unusual request, and I know I'm still just a child, practically. But this is leading me to something. I wish to follow it." her voice faded to a soft whisper at the end, almost fearful at what her Lady might say in response to all of this.

What she was asking, what she was implying, was unheard of by their standards. No elf in Lothlorien who had lived their in life had ever asked to leave for a purpose other than impending war, and that hadn't happened since the Dark Power, and even that was no more than a far off history. Rumors of a war from sixty years ago had circulated here before, but their people had mostly refrained from assisting. Her mother and father had gone, but their woods were far out of the danger that the rest of them stayed. But again, it was all history.

The way Galadriel looked at her now made her think that maybe history was about to repeat itself.

 _I know what you have felt, my daughter. And I have been expecting this._

Galadriel moved towards her slowly, her eyes piercing into her mind in the way only the Lady could.

 _Darkness is coming, Laerorniel. I know you have figured that much out at least. There is only so much time, and the Fellowship can only do what they can now that Gandalf has fallen past my sight._

"Gandalf?" Laerorniel questioned. "Mithrandir is gone?"

 _A serious blow to our side, but we shall recover. It has only begun, and some things are not as broken as they might appear to be._

 _"_ My Lady?"

 _Where there are eight, there should be nine. That is how it should be. I hear your request, and I grant it. You will be the ninth to follow them on their journey. Perhaps you will be more influential than any of you realize. This is your time, Laerorniel, and you will follow this calling out to the horizon._

"Wait, me?" Laerorniel gasped, shock masking her bubbling excitement. "Part of the Fellowship? Mother - I mean, My Lady….are you saying I am supposed to follow them?" In her heart, Laerorniel couldn't believe it. Once again, her emotions made no sense to her. Her mother was sending her off across Middle Earth with a dwarf, two men, four hobbits, and a Mirkwood Elf Prince. She should be nervous, or even scared….but thrilled? She didn't think she had that in her.

 _Do you remember the prophecy, child? The old one, of darkness and light and love?_

It took her a moment to realize that her mother had spoken her and Laerorniel had to shake herself out of her stunned stupor and listen. Does she remember. Does she remember? It was only a few hours ago that she had been reciting it to herself for the sake of remembering.

 _There is another, a lighter force, one who holds the key and power_

 _To connect the worlds against one foe_

 _One star will brave the darkness_

 _And still shine ever bright_

 _This one will join a quest so bold,_

 _A wrong to be made right._

 _One will face death, evil, and all above_

 _Truly finds what it means_

 _To love._

"Yes but what..." Laerorniel stopped, her mother's insinuation coming clear to her in a single flash. "No….I'm not….are you saying that the "One", the lighter force….is me? The one at the end about saving the light and learning to - to love?"

 _Yes. It's you, sweet Laerorniel. But what that entails only you will be able to know, with time. Yet I knew long ago that this would be your choice to fight, daughter. If you have any reservations, now would be the time to confess them. For once you step out of these woods, I cannot guarantee your return. And if you do, you will not be the same. Do you accept?_

Laeorniel closed her eyes.

"I do."

Galadriel smiled at her daughter. The prophecy was going to come true after all this time.

 _Come. I will prepare you._


	7. Leaving Lothlorien

**A/N: Please read this because it's extremely important.**

 **If you do not like this story, then don't read it. No one is forcing you to, and I'd rather you not read it if all you are going to do is leaving nasty comments.**

 **Yes, I have watched the LOTR movies a few times, but I also have read the books, as well. I am sorry if I don't get all the details right, or if I can't remember exactly what occurred. Sorry if I am not as well versed with the Tolkien universe as some of you. That doesn't mean I don't have the right to write what I wish.**

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 **Okay, I'm done now.**

* * *

The Fellowship stood in their allotted commons, awaiting an escort from the Lady's court to show them through the rest of the Golden Wood to the river, where their boats awaited them. The boats that would bring them closer to the borders of Gondor and Mordor.

Aragorn paced slowly around their quarters, trying not to let his nervousness show. He knew that today he would have to make his decision regarding both of those dreaded places, and whatever he chose would be irreversible in the eyes of some of his companions. Maybe. He shook his head. No, they would not think that. They would follow him no matter where he chose. Or perhaps they would choose their own path. Regardless, Aragorn knew his decision would marker theirs in the end.

He sighed. It wasn't like it was easy. The Fellowship had come this far with Frodo, and after Gandalf's fall into darkness, it pained him to think that he would have to also leave his friends to their imminent deaths to Mordor. He knew that he could be of great use and value to them when the time came. However, he was Aragorn, son of Arathorn. He had a responsibility to the people of Gondor, and he could not just leave them without hope. Not when he has the chance to give them that. Aragorn paused in his pacing and rubbed his face tiredly. It was too much. It was far too much, and he had been carrying the weight for decades. He just wanted to let it go….

Boromir leaned stiffly against a slim tree, his gaze flitting nervously from Aragon to Frodo. This was not going as he had hoped, nor planned. Boromir had come to Elrond's council seeking aid for Gondor, for his kingdom and family. Did he receive what he wished? No. Instead of receiving immediate aid from the Mordor's darkness, he was on a mission to destroy what could be the greatest weapon to their advantage. A small cloud of fury unfurled in his chest, and his eyes traveled back to the hobbit sitting a small distance away, the one who was carrying the end and the beginning of power over Middle Earth.

Frodo was sitting with his familiar companions from the Shire, trying very hard to listen to the amusing, albeit very confusing, story Merry and Pippin were in the middle of interrupting each other of telling. He thought it might be about the time Pippin had dared Merry to win naked across the Brandywine River in the middle of a frost, but he had honestly gotten lost around the part where Old Gaffer Gamgee had apparently run them down on his mule on Harvest's Day. Frodo shook his head and gave up trying to follow and instead just tried to look as if he was even moderately paying attention.

His mind was in fact far away, back to the night before and his encounter with the Lady Galadriel. He couldn't sleep, and when he had saw her gliding through the glade, there was a sudden, inexplicable urge to follow her….and now he was haunted. The images he had seen in the mirror were vivid in his mind: the desolation, the Shire in smoke and his friends in chains, the fire and the burning eye. Every time he glanced at his friends, new images flashed before his eyes - Merry, bleeding on the ground. Pippin, dragged away by clawing hands. Sam, dirty and bleeding and crying out as chains wrapped themselves around his torso, stringing him up in the air as he writhed and yelled - Frodo barely held back from gagging. Those images his own mind had created were far worse than what he had really seen. But he couldn't seem to stop it.

He had asked the Lady if it was the future. He had asked her what to do. He had asked her to take the Ring. And then he had seen the horrifically beautiful Lady, in terrible power, and he had been more than frightened. Frodo thought he had actually brought destruction to his friends right then and there. But….no. It had been a test, for the both of them. The Lady had tested her will, and passed. She would not take the Ring. And Frodo had been tested on his strength of will….and he had broken. The burden was his and his alone. He knew it was wearing him down, slowly, ever slowly. Yet no one else seemed to see it.

Except…the Lady's daughter. What was her name again? Laerorniel. She, too, had said she had felt the pull and draw of the ring and the dark power that yearned for it. At least…he thought that was what she had said. Elves could be so cryptic sometimes. Poetic, and cryptic. Hobbits, and dwarves, at least, were always straightforward. Frodo sighed. Maybe she hadn't meant the Ring at all. She could had meant that maybe she felt something outside the wood, something less menacing, calling to her. Hadn't that been what Bilbo had told him once? He never knew that what he had been missing in his quiet life was adventure until it literally came knocking at his door. Frodo glanced around at his friends, Boromir was off to the side, leaning heavily against a seemingly slender birch tree while Aragorn paced a few feet away. He, too, seemed to have something heavy weighing on his mind. Frodo stared at him a moment longer before turning to see where the other two had gone.

Gimli was off further away from them with Legolas. His body language would suggest that he was quite relaxed, though the stoic dwarf still had a firm grip on his axe. He was sitting on a slice silver bench placed inside their tented area, just watching Legolas sigh and take his last few looks around the enchanted woods. But Frodo decided that his tense grip on his family heirloom had more to do with the fact that they were leaving the safety and comfort of the Golden Wood rather than he was worried about his surroundings. No, Gimli had humbled considerably since arriving into Lothlorien several days ago. He had refrained from any further crudeness or insults towards the elves, instead trying his best to compliment the Lord and Lady of the Wood. Frodo even heard him ask to accompany Legolas as he wandered and visited his estranged kin. It seemed the elf and the dwarf had indeed struck up an unlikely friendship of sorts.

Legolas was the only one amongst them who honestly had felt at home here. Perhaps it was his elvish blood, perhaps it was something deeper. Whatever the case, the blonde elf indeed had been out exploring this mystic place near all hours of the day, spending only a short time with his companions in their camp during their stay. He hadn't even slept there, preferring to spend his nights in the trees with his Golden brethren, or out amongst the stars.

Legolas had told them that he was excited to finally see the place that his kind had only talked about with wonder and fear, but that, in itself, was only a half truth. All his time traveling through the entire realm of Lothlorien had been spent searching for that one elf maiden, Laerorniel. She had never come back after she ran off last night, saying something about needing to speak with her mother. Legolas had sene how distraught she had been, and immediately, he had wanted to go after her, but he held back.

Legolas sighed. Laerorniel was unlike any girl he had ever encountered, and see as he had traveled traveled the course of Middle Earth, that was saying something. If he really let himself admit it, something he hadn't felt in a long time had come alive inside him when he had seen her that first time, looking down from her balcony. And now, she was gone. He needed to see her again before it was time to go. But he could not find her.

Legolas took one last look through the sunlit trees before turning back to join his waiting company. It saddened him to think that, at the very least, he wouldn't get to say goodbye. As he turned, Legolas saw that there were newcomers to the glade alongside his companions. One of the Lady's people had finally arrived to show them out. But she was not alone.

Standing beside the Lothlorien elf servant was another all clad in dark red and black, with thick gold rivulets streaming down the arm guards. Thick boots wrapped their legs and their pale gold white hair hung in a long braid down the length of their back. A sheath hung from a thin glimmering belt and a travel pack rested on the ground beside them.

As Legolas curiously approached them, the lightly armored stranger turned to meet him, showing a small glimpse of a glowing silver pendant around her neck. Legolas froze as he recognized her, wondering how he had missed it.

"Laerorniel." he breathed in surprise.

The rest of the company, who had been assessing with the escort, now took a second look at the she-elf. The change was so startling from the girl they had met the night before, that not one of them could stop the almost comical double take as they took in the drastic change of the Lady's daughter. It was evident even in the way she held herself: she was no longer shy and withdrawn in her movements. Legolas could sense the difference in her confidence, the strength in herself. But though her appearance had changed, Legolas still felt the same, almost forgotten feelings when he looked at her.

Laerorniel smiled gently at the eight companions, trying not to laugh at their stunned expressions.

"This is Gulwen, a personal friend and your escort to the riverbed, where my mother is waiting to say her final farewells and warnings for you all. And," here her confidence seemed to waver just slightly, but she carried on, "if you don't mind,I would like to accompany you on your journey out of Lothlorien and to wherever your final destination may lie."

They were all quiet for a long time. Legolas knew how they were feeling, for the same conflicts warred with him. They had just lost Gandalf in the Mines of Moria not a week ago and the grief was still fresh. How could they add a new companion so soon after this tragedy, especially one that had quite literally met the day before? It was blatantly unwise, but…..he trusted her. It was strange, but a part of him knew she was valuable to them, to him, to the Fellowship. His possible feelings aside, there was something about her that spoke of a deeper purpose. He knew that because his father once told him he held the same spark - a spark his mother had held. One that Bilbo Baggins had once held, and one that was carried in his nephew, Frodo.

Legolas glanced at the other members of his company. Time was still ticking by, and he saw how they deliberated in their own heads, and with silent searching looks. Laerorniel waited patiently, but the hope in her eyes was fading fast.

"I do not know what reason you have for asking, Laerorniel," Aragorn said at last, his voice slow and cautious as his eyes pierced her own, "and if you fully knew what we are meant to do, I assure you that you would not ask such a question. We run fool's errand, a dead man's quest. But you are not a fool, I can see. And you are not a man, which is never a terrible thing, I have learned. I have no doubt that you can be just as strong as any warrior in your court. I trust that you understand that to travel with us is to carry your own weight in gold. And, if no one objects, then welcome, Laerorniel, to the Fellowship of The Ring."

* * *

Gulwen led the nine of them through the trees with swift and silent footsteps. They didn't have much time, and haste was necessary if they were to reach the borders of Gondor and Mordro before the sun set. Aragorn and Boromir were in the front, talking in low voices. Gimli trudged behind them, followed by Merry and Pippin, then Frodo and Sam, and at the back, Legolas walked slowly beside Laerorniel. They all seemed lost in their own little worlds, providing an unlikely amount of privacy out in the open path.

"Leaving your home is never easy. I am impressed that someone of your stature would choose to come on such a rough excursion." Legolas started lamely, but it was worth it as the she-elf smiled gratefully.

"Speak for yourself, Prince of Mirkwood. If I am honest, I have never actually felt fully comfortable in my position here, both as a Lothlorien lady, and as The Lady's daughter. It was never was suited me. This….this feels right." she blushed suddenly at the end, looking away from his ice blue eyes and out towards the horizon instead.

" I know what you mean. I left home long ago, and haven't returned in many years. As a prince in my father's court, there was much I was assigned to do, fighting on guard being a primary duty. I was always a player in someone else's game, and for a time, it was quite enjoyable. It was an easy life. love the outdoors and the sun and the stars and the trees. It was what our life centered around. But there came a time when I couldn't stay there. I refused to. I moved on, traveling here and there until I met Aragon, and joined this Fellowship."

Legolas paused, slightly uneasy. That was more than he's ever really talked about to anyone before, about anything. He wasn't known for being to forthcoming with his own past, and the fact that he gave more than he was comfortable spoke volumes. What was happening to him?

"I have never been anywhere outside Lothlorien, I will admit." Laerorniel sighed. "I never had the courage to, or the will. Or a reason, for that matter. And now I do. I have it all, and as much as it scares me….it excites me too. I - I need to leave here. I need to be on this quest. " her eyes unfocused for a moment as she became lost in her own thoughts. Legolas watched her, fascinated. "This may sound crazy, but I think I was always supposed to do this, to go with you. All of you, I mean."

Gulwen had reached the riverbed, where Galadriel was seen with members of the Wood waiting beside three long boats. The other company members slowed to a stop, waiting for the last two to catch up. Legolas glanced at them before sneaking one last look at the fierce she-elf beside him, who caught his eye in a sideways glance.

"That's not crazy at all."


	8. The First Battle

**A/N:** **Thanks to those of you who are being very kind and supportive to me and this story. You deserve all my love and I appreciate you guys so much.**

 **To the anonymous reader who finds it necessary to bully me and trash my story:**

 **I am very sorry you feel that way, but why do you keep reading? Do you think you're making a difference? Do you realize that what you're doing is mean spirited, petty, and unnecessary?**

 **I am sorry that I keep coming back to this, but I want to be able to write what I want without judgement. We all do. Isn't that why we joined fan fiction in the first place?**

 **Review only if your going to say something positive and/or constructive. One again, this is slightly AU.**

* * *

Laerorniel watched as the shores of her home drifted further and further away. She saw them drift into the horizon as if in a dream, wondering if it was really happening or if she would soon find herself awakening back in her bed in her golden home. She shook her head, pinched her arm, bit her lip as hard as she could, and nothing changed. Laerorniel was not asleep. She was not dreaming in her bed.

She was sitting in a small, grey, Lothlorien made boat, that was floating gently downriver towards the borders of Mordor and Gondor and away from the borders of her home. Laerorniel glanced back again, and then she chanced to look a her companions.

She had managed to be seated in a boat with Legolas and Gimli. A second boat further ahead held Boromir, Merry, and Pippin, the more childlike - perhaps the word "innocent" would better describe them - hobbits. And further ahead of them, leading their troop, was a third boat containing Aragorn, Sam, and Frodo, the ones who would be the catalysts for what was to come. Or at least, she was assuming. They had yet to fully divulge what their purpose was for traveling this way, and where there intentions lay.

Trust was a hard thing to earn, and to give, as she understood it. But a war was coming. Laerorniel hoped that she might be able to prove her worth sooner rather than later. With the feelings of impending darkness, it was only a matter of time before it overtook them - and they would need all the allies they could get.

The boat dipped into a rolling wave, and Laerorniel felt the boats follow the bend in the river. Quickly, she turned back around just in time to see Lothlorien vanish into the sun haze. There. It was gone. Laerorniel caught at her breath for a split second, taking in the fact that she was now the farthest she had ever been from home - from her mother. She was surprised to find that, although she already had this sense of deep longing for the safety of the thick trees and the golden, peaceful merriment, Laerorniel still felt that she had made the right decision. In her future, and her heart.

At that private thought, Laerorniel snuck a glance at the lean elf in the stern of the boat, his icy gaze reflecting the blue of the river water as he concentrated on keeping the small craft steady in the wake of the other two. The setting sun flamed through the branches from the shoreline, striking him in a sudden flash of fiery light that seemed to burn his image onto her eyelids. Laerorniel sighed. She felt that same, wonderfully terrifying swooping sensation in her chest, and this time, her heart seemed to falter in its beating as well, catching her completely off guard.

Suddenly his eyes left the water and met hers, blue meeting gold with a strength powerful enough to make visible sparks, and Laerorniel flushed, looking hastily away and back over to the passing shorelines. She kept her eyes focused out and away from him, even though she knew, somehow, that he was still watching her. Laerorniel heard a lilting musical chime, and flushed even more as she realized what it was. He was laughing! Oh, she would never live this down if the others had noticed.

They continued to ride along in silence, finishing the bend in the river. Once they had gotten completely around it, Laerorniel chanced another look at the Mirkwood Prince. Legolas Greenleaf. He marveled her. No one had ever captured her attention like he had, not in all of the last few centuries. Oh, sure, the elves of Lothlorien had tried their very best to catch her eye, and, admittedly, some had actually succeeded - but none had ever managed to snare her heart. She had ultimately resigned herself to waiting for the next three or twenty centuries before she found a bonding love like the one her parents had. But then he had come.

He had made her take a step back in shock, something she was not used to. She hardly ever got surprised at all. It was not really taught in her lessons, emotions. Now suddenly, she was full of feelings she was unaware of, feelings that scared and excited her, exploded all at once within her heart and her mind and her stomach even and….and she was dizzy. When she tried the least bit to define what she felt, a million and one thoughts would race through her mind, most of them concerning what her mother had told her before she had left.

Was she serious? Could this be -

"Lass-er, Lady?" a gruff voice sounded at her shoulder. Laerorniel jumped, caught completely unawares. She inwardly cursed at herself. If the others saw that she was daydreaming, they might call her unprepared or lacking in vigilance and insist she be sent back! She had to focus. Laerorniel blinked a few times and took in the present time now.

The boats were no longer on the water, but they had been dragged ashore on the eastern bank. These were the woods that dove deeper into the country of Men, while on the other side, lay the darker and more despairing lands where Mordor's decaying hands had laid waste to. Laerorniel turned and saw that the others in her company had already disembarked from their boats. Gimli and Legolas were piling up the supplies, Sam and Merry and Pippin were settling down in the shade of a tree which Boromir was leaning against.

"We will rest here until Frodo comes to a decision. Then, it will be upon us to follow him, or break apart as we must." Aragon said softly.

Laerorniel stood out out of the craft, confused. It must have shown, for Legolas took her arm and motioned her over to a quiet spot by the trees. As they walked, Laerorniel noticed that Frodo was not among them.

"Legolas-" she began, but he cut her off swiftly.

"There has always been the dilemma of reaching this point in our quest, Laerorniel, long before you joined us. We did promise to follow help Frodo reach his goal, but now our ultimate goal is split. Aragorn is decided to continue to Gondor with Boromir, to begin preparations against armies of Mordor. I feel it in his mind that this is what he will do, though he may deny it now.

Boromir has been adamant that Frodo return with them and use the ring against the Darker Power. If he accepts, we will all continue with them. But should Frodo choose to head to the fires instead, then the Fellowship will split: to Mordor and to Gondor."

Laerorniel sighed and looked back over the water to the other shore. She could feel his eyes on her and it was all she could do not to flush again. Would the Fellowship break, so soon after she joined? Why to Mordor, and why to Gondor? How does this all connect? When was it going to start, and when it did, would it ever end?

"Laerorniel."

She looked back at Legolas with alarm. He had never said her name that intensely before, though when he reached out to take her hand, he was gentle. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped slightly, doing nothing more than gape at him. She knew she looked absolutely ridiculous and not at all dignified as she had been trained and brought up to be, but Laerorniel found it impossible to reign herself in. Legolas looked so vulnerable, so open right now, as if he were going to plead with her. But plead what?

"Laerorniel, I know that you have not been entirely forthcoming with your reason for joining the Fellowship. Then again, neither have we been so truthful. And I will try to remedy that. But I know that you have been holding back on your reason for being here. I know that there is something that draws you out of the woods….that draws you to us."

Laerorniel tensed, and her jaw snapped shut. How did he….she decided she didn't want to know. What she did want to know was what he was going to say next. Laerorniel watched as he seemed to steel himself, taking courage from whatever he seemed to see in her expression.

"Laeronriel," he said softly. "I wish to know...should we break...will you go with-"

"Legolas! Laerorniel!" Aragorn came stomping over to the two elves, the others in tow behind him. His face was drawn, and either was oblivious to their annoyed looks at having been interrupted or he was choosing to ignore them. But their annoyance was soon forgotten when he continued to speak. "Boromir is gone. Have you seen him since we pulled ashore?"

"He said he was getting more wood, for the fire." Pippin brought up helpfully.

"Yeah, Pip, over an hour ago." Merry snapped. "And speaking of, shouldn't Frodo have come back by now, Aragorn?"

Aragon froze and looked wildly from Merry up to the cliff high off the hill where he knew Frodo had gone to think things over. He knew it was a big decision…they all knew what it would mean either way. Aragorn knew where Boromir stood, and he had told him expressly to leave the hobbit be. But the ring's power….Boromir's insistence of it's use….would he….? He wouldn't have….but…

"Stay here! Wait till I come back!" Aragorn shouted and at once, he took off at a fast pace into the trees. They rest of them watched him go, a feeling of complete unease beginning to take root. Laerorniel could feel it in the air. Something was not right.

"We should leave. Now." Laerorniel whispered to Legolas.

"Leave?" Pippin turned to her in shock. "But Strider said -"

"Pip, Strider wouldn't want us to -"

"You don't know what he wants!"

"I know what I want!"

"Stop it!" Sam yelled, startling his two quarreling friends into silence. "Mister Frodo is in trouble. I just know it. And there is no way I am leaving him, not now, not ever, and I am certainly not going to stand here and argue when he needs his Sam!" And with that, Sam was off after Aragorn, with Merry and Pippin close behind him before the three other members could shout a word to stop them.

"Ah the lads don't know where they're goin!" Gimli growled, pushing Legolas and Laerorniel aside. "Little hobbits are sure to meet their fate in these blasted woods! Legolas! Lady! Come on now!" Gimli charged the trees, ax held high. With one look of apprehension and grim determination, the elves unsheathed their blades and ran quickly in pursuit.

* * *

Legolas let loose another arrow at the oncoming Orc. It sunk deep into the foul being's skull and with one final shriek, the monster fell with a horrid thump onto the forest floor. But Legolas had already moved on, nocking another arrow into his bow and slaying another oncoming servant of the Darkness. He knew his arrows were lessening, and he quickly changed tactics and moved to his blades, slashing ones throat and one's exposed eyes into bloody strips. He was merciless, as he had been trained since his birth.

They had come from nowhere, ambushing the scattered company and starting the violent bloodbath. It had become utter chaos amidst the screams of his friends and the howls of his enemies and Legolas had lost sight of the hobbits and Aragorn and Laerorniel. Gimli, he had found right away, and they had fought side by side, counting the monsters they killed in effort to hold onto something good. He was starting to like that irritable little man. Legolas focused again and shot an arrow straight through the neck of another ugly beast, dropping him where he stood. He could hear nothing but their growls, smell nothing but their stench, see only their twisted countenance. Though he kept a calm face through it all, as elves were wont to do, inside, he was panicking. Where was Aragorn? Where was Frodo and Sam and the other little ones? And where in Middle Earth was Laerorniel?!

Suddenly, the Orcs turned and began to flee. Legolas paused in his attack as the foul menaces raced past without a second glance at the elf and dwarf, as if their battle no longer meant anything to the disgraceful beings. But there was no use questioning the reprieve. Instead, Legolas grabbed Gimli by the back of his tunic and the two turned and raced the other way, hoping desperately to find their friends alive.

Legolas knew that if they were to find their comrades, the best place to search would be the clearing where they had last gathered, so instinctively, he drove Gimli and himself back in that direction. Gimli knew by not to question him or his sense of direction. Elves were born with the innate ability to always know where they were going, no matter by sun or by stars. The woods were his home, no matter where he was, and he would always have a kind of claim over the domain as much as it had on him.

When they reached the clearing, piled with dead Orcs and pools of darkened blood, they paused. They could see the outline of two Men, one crouched over the other. Aragorn stood over the now still body of Boromir, his head bowed in respect. There were several dark arrows protruding from the blonde Man's chest, and his face and hands were coated in dirt and blood.

Slowly, Legolas and Gimli made their approach, the wound of a dead friend hitting harder than the small cuts inflicted from any of the Orcs. Aragorn did not look up at them as they came to stand beside him, and Gimli sighed.

"The lads?"

Aragon turned away from them and went to the edge of the water a little ways down the hillside. Legolas followed at a short distance, and suddenly he noticed that where there had been three boats, now there were only two. Quickly, he scanned their surroundings until he saw the grey Lothlorien boat on the other bank, pulled into the brush at the water's edge. He looked closer….someone was moving deeper into the woods on the other shore….perhaps it was two people…

"It would seem Frodo and Sam have decided to continue their original quest alone." Aragorn said softly. "Were that I could assist them, as I had promised. Merry and Pippin -"

"Taken."

The three turned at the sound of a tired, strained voice coming from by the water, and they were shocked. It was Laerorniel - covered with streaks of blood and limping on an obviously sprained, possibly even broken, ankle. Her blonde hair was matted in thick clumps from dirt, water, and there was a still bleeding gash at her hairline. Her left ankle was clearly causing her pain, but she kept limping towards them, her body falling forward with the effort, and she held her right arm to her chest. Though she was trying to keep a smooth faec of calm, Legolas could tell that she was in a lot of pain. But that didn't entirely matter.

"LAERORNIEL!" Legolas yelled her name, letting his concern and his relief at seeing her alive leak through his normally passive tone as he raced to her side, Aragorn and Gimli close on his heels. "What happened? Where - Aragorn!"

The Man nudged Legolas aside, already holding one of the last remaining aid packs, pulling out wrappings and supplies to bind and splint her ankle. Gently, he prodded the swollen joint, and Laerorniel hissed and closed her eyes, holding onto Legolas as a new wave of pain coursed through her.

"I was caught off guard." she whispered. "It shouldn't have happened but all I know is we were running and then those creatures…..we were separated. I tried to hold my own but they attacked me almost right from the moment. I tried to call out - tried to find you. They laughed and beat me around before I knew what had happened and by the time my sword was out of my sheath, my head was spinning and blood was….everywhere."

"Your first battle is never your most successful." Aragorn said gently, smiling is kind assurance that this was not held against her. Legolas nodded at his old friend, and then at Laerorniel.

"We were all caught unawares." Legolas said. "We should have known that being so close to Sauron's influence might attract unwanted enemies, but we had lost sight of that."

"I was not surprised." Gimli groused. "We dwarves have a certain knack for…" he cut off at the looks of annoyance from the Man and Elf. "Sorry. Not the time."

"I would have died trying to defend myself." Laerorniel continued. "I am not as yet experienced enough to handle so much on my own without aid. I would have died."

"What happened?" Legolas pressed as she paused again.

"Boromir." Laerorniel laughed. " I don't know where he came from but suddenly he was racing by, taking down four of them before running away again." she swallowed against the twinge of pain as Aragorn tightened the splint on her ankle. "I followed him. He was yelling for Merry…and Pippin." She opened her eyes again and stared directly into Aragorn's. "I saw him fall."

There was silence. Aragorn paused in his bindings, Legolas closed his eyes slowly and bowed his head. Gimli remained silent, which in itself, spoke volumes. None of them had seen Boromir fall. None of them were entirely sure how it happened. Legolas assumed that perhaps Aragorn had spoken some last words with the Gondor hero, but it was not something one simply asked. Now here was Laerorniel with a first hand memory account of the tragedy. Her voice was quiet, and Legolas chose to politely ignore the tears that were making streaks through the grime on her face. He had never seen an elf so beautiful, though she was all but destroyed. His heart hurt looking at her.

"I screamed," Laerorniel continued hoarsely, "as they grabbed the Halflings and ran. Merry and Pippin were crying, screaming out. I tried to follow, tried to help - but I fell down a ravine off the northern edge of the falls. I only just managed to climb my way out." Laerorniel finally opened her eyes, but it was like she wasn't seeing them, like she was lost in a memory, or perhaps a vision. No one wished to speak, but they still needed answers.

"Frodo and Sam...?"

"They left for Mordor." Aragorn and Laerorniel spoke at once. Both glanced at each other, speaking volumes with their eyes only before Laerorniel conceded and turned away.

"Frodo and Sam are on their own now." Aragorn said. "I can only hope we might cross into their paths again and aid them as allies, but for now, we shall do what we can from afar. if Merry and Pippin are still alive…we must rescue them. We shall not leave them to the devices of Orcs, to be ravished and killed. Our duty lies to those we can help. Our friends and Gondor. If you stand with me, then let us take off. They have more than half a day on us."

Laerorniel looked over to the opposite shore briefly, as if remembering, her eyebrows knit in thought and worry before relaxing. She locked eyes with the blond elf above her, and Legolas was surprised to see such clarity in her golden orbs.

"I made the right decision."


	9. On the Hunt

**A/N: I would like to take a second and thank the following reviewer and to give a shoutout to her and her review:**

Lydwina Marie: The anonymous reviewer doesn't seem to realise this, but when I say something I generally mean it. Your writing draws me in and intrigues me, and I am very excited to see what happens next. There may be some places where things are strangely put, but overall this is a wonderful fanfic, and I am very glad I found it!

 **She was incredibly kind enough to leave this review, and it literally warms my heart. Thank you, Lydwina Marie, and to all of you who are being incredibly supportive of this story and my writing. Please keep it up!**

 **This chapter is really short, and I apologize.**

* * *

Laerorniel held back a yelp as she stumbled over a tree root, letting out instead a slightly pained groan as she righted herself and kept prodding forward. She had twisted her ankle yet again on the trail, and a firey vein of pain was now prickling through her leg. She could feel her swollen joint throbbing with every limping step, but Laerorniel didn't dare speak up. They had to keep going.

Only an hour ago, Legolas and Aragorn had finished patching her up to the best of their abilities before making the last minute arrangements as they prepared to advance after Merry and Pippin and the dark creatures that had taken them captive. Laerorniel had watched, detached, as they picked up and tested discarded weapons, checked supplies, scouted ahead for a possible trail, and finally, as they had prepared to leave the bank, the four of them had laid Boromir, their friend and hero, into a Lothlorien boat, his hands laid gently across his chest with his sword in his fists, and sent it out over the waterfall as a final farewell.

Now, barely an hour later, here they were, leagues deeper into the woods, chasing clues that only Aragorn seemed to see as he pushed them faster and faster. The vile things already had a two hour head start and, as fast as they four were normally, they were already weary and wounded from the long day. Laerornial's own wounds had been numerous, and though none were life-threatening, she was sore and bruised almost everywhere on her body, and it was taking a tremendous toll. But she had to prove that she belonged here, with them. Gimli, Legolas, and Aragorn had fought just as much as she had, and they no doubtably were more so tired and sore than she was. If they could run uphill through the forest despite their aches and pains, then so could she. As soon as she thought that, Laerorniel mistakenly stepped on a loose rock and slid downhill a few feet, and this time, her squeak of pain was a bit more audible.

Legolas turned to look back at her and paused when he saw her grimacing in pain. She didn't quite dare to look him in the eyes. She didn't want to see pity, or worse, regret. But she couldn't stop the wince as her leg throbbed again, worse this time as she tried to move it. She at least needed to rest for half a minute before moving on, otherwise it might become a serious injury, and the journey, for her at least, had barely even begun.

"Aragorn."

Legolas instead called ahead to the Ranger, who was further ahead than all of them and turned back with a flash of brief impatience. Aragorn quickly took stock of his company - the wheezing dwarf, the bloody and liming elf girl, and worried look on his older friend's face. In a single second, he battled with his concern for the welfare of his team and his need to find his two charges and get to Gondor as soon as possible. He was a leader - and a wise leader did whatever it took to take care of his people.

"Take a short rest. We must not linger long." he consented before turning to scout for tracks. Gimli collapsed heavily against a thick tree, wheezing, and pulling off his metal helmet to let his auburn hair flow more freely around his face, which was a starling ruddy color. Laerornial sat weakly on a fallen limb, gingerly taking weight off her ankle with a grateful sigh, and Legolas came to sit by her, his icy eyes calculating and kind.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly.

Laerornial huffed as she re-wrapped her ankle in bandages she pulled from her newly acquired supply pack - the one that used to have been Boromir's.

"I have had better days, I'll admit." she said, chancing a glimpse at the blonde haired blue-eyed elf. She was surprised to see him looking directly back at her - and Laerorniel felt her head start to spin around. There was a sliver of a moment where the rest of the world faded into a sheering halo of white sunlight around the two of them - it was terrifying. Laerorniel shook her head quickly and focused her attention back to her ankle. She still could feel the intensity of his eyes on her.

 _"Four hunters traversing the wood. One bleeds and falls and dies for good. Another soars above the clouds, he takes the sky and won't come down. The third digs deep into the earth, burrowing to hide for all he's worth. The fourth has of course yet to choose, a life to gain, or one to loose."_

"What is that?"

Laerornial blushed. Had she said that aloud?

"I thought it was fitting, I suppose. It's a riddle or a verse I must have heard somewhere, some time. Four hunters, that's us. One destined to die, from mortal flaws I suppose it means. The one to be free, up in the air and not subject to the suffocation of being tied to the Earth. Then, one to dig into the earth, and what lies below the surface I suppose. And then there is one to decide the future, literally or figuratively I do not know. I don't know. I don't know why I said it. I guess I thought it sounded like something my mother would say."

Legolas reached over and touched her hand. This time, Laerorniel looked back at him, wondering as he opened his mouth, what he might say, if he would dare to breach the distance that still remained between them. But before he could, there was the crashing sound of footsteps in the underbrush.

"I found more tracks, heading east towards Rohan." Aragorn came racing back through the trees, startling everyone to their feet. "Come on. It's time we get our hobbits back."


	10. The Right Decision

**A/N: Wow, thank you so much for the reviews on the last chapter! You guys rock! Shoutout to Lydwina Marie for making my day with her sweet words:**

Lydwina Marie: This is a wonderful chapter! The last line is amazing - I kind of wish I'd thought of it for some of my stories ;) Short chapter or no, at least it's an update! Looking forward to more as soon as possible!

 **Ask and receive! Also, I really do appreciate the tips and advice some of you have left for me and I will honestly try to adhere to what you guys are looking for.**

* * *

It was sunset. They had been running and hiking practically full speed for hours on end and still the orcs were leagues ahead of them. Even if they kept on, which they were in no condition to do, they would never overtake them by morning, nor would they be able to take on that entire army. Aragorn had finally called it a night and ordered a rest. They were close to some of the open moor now, and in a few days they would find themselves crossed over the border into Rohan.

Laerorniel stretched herself out on the dried grass, trying to get comfortable, but the constant throbbing in her muscles and in her ankle specifically kept her from finding peace. She knew it would be a few more days before she was healed completely, but those few days would be full of strenuous hiking and sprinting.

"A few more days of that on a busted ankle. What pleasure." she muttered to herself.

"It comes with the territory."

Laerorniel glanced up at Legolas as he made to sit beside her. She hadn't even heard him approach, which wasn't all that surprising, considering the lightness of elves. Laerorniel glanced around them. They had made camp all together a few feet away, but Laerorniel had distanced herself a few few further, wanting some time to think by herself without distractions. It's not that she didn't want to exclude herself, only that there was a lot on her mind even after these few days, and it wasn't as if the others were off brooding about her. No, they seemed content to let her be, as if they understood her plight. She looked to the other two companions fondly.

Aragorn was still over closer to the fire Gimli had made, and said dwarf was currently caught up lamenting to the Man all his grievances the far. Which, considering the dwarf,w as actually a lengthy list. So it still remained that she had her privacy - but there was Legolas, standing above her waiting for a response to the statement she had already forgotten.

"What?" Laerorniel sat up slightly and leaned against her pack that she was using as a pillow. Legolas sank down beside her, placing his own pack that she just noticed he carried beside hers and settled into a similar position. Gently, he shuffled around until their shoulders just barely brushed together. A thrill went through her and Laerorniel thanks the stars that it was dark enough that her blush would not show.

"The injuries. " Legolas spoke again, motioning at her scrapes and bruises and her slightly swollen ankle. "They come with the territory of being a warrior, not a princess. Or prince for that matter. Yes, we are royalty and know the language of politics and all the finer things, but we are also trained in the ways of survival and power. It is our life - our people's life. Injuries of the body, soul, mind, and heart are sure to come from that, but you heal, however painfully, and you learn from it." Legolas reached over and tapped lightly on one of her arm guards. "And besides, that's why we have these."

Laeronriel let out a small huff of laughter and conceded a small smile, looking into the fire instead if his eyes, afraid that if she did, she would act on the feelings that were warring in her chest. It was too soon, too soon to know what it all meant. And there was a war brewing - was this really the right time?

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, just sitting side by side, each buried in their own thoughts, and, unbeknownst to the other, sneaking hidden glances at the one beside them. There was no sound, just the crackling of the dying embers of the fire and the soft snores of Aragorn and Gimli, who had long ago drifted off to fitful bouts of sleep. Larorniel, too, began to feel the pull of the wanderings of her mind, and she faded, and slowly, her left hand reached up to play with the pendant around her neck, as she always did to calm herself.

Except there was nothing there. Her fingertips brushed against her bare, smooth skin. Her mind instantly jolted back into awareness. She felt again, and again, reaching all the way around the width of her neck, feeling the newly acquired scares and the outline of her armor, but there was no mithril chain, no silver-blue gem encircled in gold.

Nothing.

* * *

"No...no, no, please. Oh, Lady, no..."

Legolas was startled out of his gazing by the sound of Laerorniel's heartbroken plea. He had been dreaming - at least, what others might describe as dreaming - when instinctually he had felt something off, and his mind had begun to return to the real world. And then he had heard her cry out softly and he awoke, afraid that there was something they had missed - a clue, an orc, a footprint, blood, a body - but if that was the case, surely she would have awoken Aragorn, and Legolas could still see his friend gently sleeping a few yards away.

Legolas reached out to his side, where he knew Laerorniel had been before, but felt only the dry earth. It took him a moment to realize that she was no longer beside him, and, pushing away the small, childish pang of disappointment, he leapt lithely to his feet and whirled around, once again assuaged with fears of orcs and dark demons that could have taken her and caused her distress, though he knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself. She was a warrior of Lothlorien, and despite the last battle, he knew she was capable of slaughtering a thousand orcs without breaking. The first battle was always the hardest, and the sloppiest, but it wouldn't always be that way. Legolas though this logically, but his heart didn't cease it's erratic beating until he saw her, scrabbling in the dirt several feet away, her motions frantic, and her ankle once again twisted at an odd angle. Legolas darted to where she was and tried to still her hands, which were caked in dirt and blood.

"Laerorniel-"

"I lost it, Legolas, it's gone. I can't have lost it, I need to find it-"

"Laerorniel, what-"

"Legolas, let go, let me go, I need-"

"LAERORNIEL." Legolas's voice was firm. "What is it you are looking for?"

Though it was still very dark, the moon and the stars were twinkling brightly above them, creating an eerie, whitish blue light that was bright enough for even human eyes to see clearly by. So it was that Legolas had no trouble seeing the anguish on the girl's face, the tear tracks that had wiped their way through the dirt on her face, the small red scrapes she had made on her cheeks, her neck and upper chest in her desperate attempt to think and focus and calm herself, to no avail.

In an instinct foreign to him, Legolas gave a sharp tug on her hands and Laerorniel was thrust forward-into his chest. Before she could protest, Legolas had wrapped his arms around her tightly, keeping her pressed against him and hushing her frantic breathing.

"Please, Laerorniel, tell me, what happened?"

* * *

Laerorniel was frozen against the other elf's chest. She knew he was really trying to help her, but in reality, this was doing nothing to calm her frantic heart. Her nerves were singing with an electric fire that she was sure he heard, but she was in his arms, and it felt...new. Laerorniel had no memory of being held before, especially not like this, like...like-

Before she could properly begin to think about the emotions that seemed to be moving between them, Legolas pulled back to look her in the eyes. Laerorniel blinked for a moment, and looked down at her hands, still resting on the armor on his chest.

"I...I had a pendant, before we left Lothlorien. Silver mithril chain, with a light blue jem, the color of our resting garments, and wrapped in a circlet of gold. It was my mother's gift to me. She told me to wear it always and it would guide me to the right decision. That it would help in leading me to fulfill the prophecy I was destined for. I didn't know what to make of it, but the other day….it did help me. It saved me. But there is so, so much more to do, and so much that I do not understand and now…I've lost it. It must have been torn from my neck during the fight, or down that ravine, or I don't know where. I've lost my mother's gift, Legolas… I lost the last piece I had connecting me to Lothlorien. How -" Laerorniel felt choking sobs start again and was briefly ashamed. Before this she had been a proud and stoic princess of the Golden Wood, and now, she was a blubbering warrior over the loss of a jewel.

Oh god, she was turning into a dwarf!

Legolas held her for a moment longer before he moved into a more comfortable position across from her. A part of her cried out for the loss of contact, but in truth, it did help her focus better. That was good….right?

"What prophecy?"

Suddenly, Laerorniel found herself singing, singing the lullaby sung to all the golden children, the prophecy that until two days before, Laerorniel had only thought of as just a pretty song. IT had only ever been that for all of them, something meaningless and pretty. But the elves never sing anything without meaning, and now she knew why. Now…now it was all real, the darkness and the danger and ….well, there was that bit about love, but love was a bit of a strong word, and who knew what they even felt like…but it still might come to pass.

When she was done, she found herself a little nervous. What she had shared with him was highly private, not only for her, but for all the elves of Lothlorien, and it was much more than anything he's shared in return. Shouldn't that be how friendship works? But now she had gone so far beyond that line with someone she still barely knew, and it felt off balance to her.

"That is...very intense. Even for you, Laerorniel." Legolas sighed, his eyes becoming a darker shade than usual as he thought. "So that is what you and your mother discussed then, the night you ran away from us? You remembered the prophecy and feared you were the One it spoke of?"

Laerorniel tilted her head so that her hair was blocking the view of his face, and his of hers.

"No, Legolas. I do not think, or fear. I am the One. My mother, she told me she knew me to be capable of many great things, all of which are up to me to accomplish. It is my destiny, I believe.

Joining you on this quest was the best decision I ever made, for more reasons than I can ever hope to tell you. But that is not the point. The point is-"

"The point is you made the decision to join us because your mother told you it was written in the stars?"

Was it just her, or did he sound angry? Was he angry with her? What right did he have to be angry? Laerorniel glared at him, slightly miffed that he would try and admonish her feelings so quickly before knowing the whole story.

"I asked to leave. I made the decision on my own. I wanted to be here with you, Legolas. Whatever is written for me, I will let play out. But that pendant, my mother's final gift to me - for who knows if I shall ever see her face again in life - was the only thing guiding me to the path I needed to take."

Legolas paused. They were entering a sensitive topic, here. For the moment he would ignore the statement about her wanting to be with him, not sure if she had meant it in a way he wanted her to, or if she was even aware she had said it at all. In the foremost of his mind, though...

"You said it had already worked...that it had helped you before. What decision did you have to make?"

Laerorniel blanched, though with her already pale skin, it was hard to tell there was any change at all. She turned her head and looked out over the rustling grass, giving Legolas a view of the perfect shape of her face, the stern outline of her cheeks, her lips, her furrowed brow as she concentrated on whatever she was going to say. There was something much deeper than what she was telling him, but he chose not to press any further on that tonight.

"I lied to you. About what happened, in the battle."

That was not what he was expecting.

"Okay..."

And that was less eloquent than what he had been planning. For the first time in an age, Legolas found himself unprepared. This girl, the Lady's Daughter, in less than seventy hours had managed to tie his tongue and make him float on his feet - well, more than he already did.

"Not really, though. I mean, I did not tell you all of what happened." Laerorniel rushed to affirm. "I really was ambushed by those strange orcs, and Boromir did save me and I really did see Merry and Pippin and I did watch, helpless, as Boromir fell." she paused in silence out of respect of their dead comrade before continuing. "But I was also there in time right before Frodo and Sam launched their boat across the river. I was there in time to join them….if I had wished it."

Legolas felt a tightness in his chest and he struggled to keep his face impassive, when in reality, he was imagining this fair beauty out over the evil of Mordor, under Sauron's reign, with only two country hobbits as companions, with the Dark Ring between them, drawing power with every step closer to Mount Doom, without shelter and protection…..and without him. For a moment, he was selfishly glad that she was here instead, though he knew in his heart Frodo could have used all the help he could get, and the daughter of Lady Galadriel would have been a powerful ally to have.

"Why didn't you go? Not that I'm not glad to have you join with me, us, here, but why not help Frodo?"

There were a number of things she could say. She could tell him that the ring had called for her hand also. That it wasn't just Frodo who could feel the burden, that it wasn't only Boromir who had fallen under the pull of the darkness's spell. She could tell him that even now, the ring called for her power. She could tell him that she was afraid that if she went, more damage would be done that would have been cataclysmic. She could tell him that she heard the pursuing orcs coming for the river where they stood, and instead had told them to run while she went back and held them off. She could tell how she had ended up in that ravine in the first place. She could tell him that she had thought of him…but she didn't tell him any of that.

"My pendant." she whispered. "It did something. I felt a pull, another tug, that kept me here, on this shore, on this adventure, with you. And Aragorn and Gimli, and Merry and Pip when we find them. That's why I need it. It kept me here, and I know it was supposed to help me later too. Oh, I cannot lose it."

Legolas reached forward and gently took one of her hands in his, his eyes clear.

"Listen to me. That pendant, while I do not doubt it was unique in a way only the Lady knew, was not what made your decision. As you said, you did. With your heart. And you will do so again, without it. You will make the right decision, as you did before, Laerorniel. And just in case, I will be here as well, a pendant for you to trust. And though I do not speak for them, I am sure the others would say the same."

In the dying fire glow, Laerorniel and Legolas locked eyes and it was strange, to be so caught up in the other that the world melted away. Laerorniel felt her blood boil and her ears ring and her eyes were seeing a shimmer that hadn't been there before, and she thought that maybe the moon and the stars had gotten brighter, or maybe the sun was rising. Legolas's face was overcome with mixed emotions she didn't know how to read, and she scanned them over and over, trying to understand something out of all of this. The top one was awe, or maybe fear, and she decided that now was not the time to be exploring things that were better left untouched.

So she leaned in and softly laid her lips on his cheek, cold and smooth. When she pulled back, several long seconds later than what she had intended, she stood, looking back at their stirring comrades.

"Come, now, Legolas. There is much to be done."


End file.
